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Mike Wallace trying to prove hes not a o

As I watched Blair Walsh mi s the chip shot 27-yard field goal attempt that would have beaten the Seahawks in the wild-card round two weeks ago, my mind immediately flashed to an even worse mi sed kick in Vikings playoff history.That of course was in the 1998 NFC championship when I was GM of the Vikings and Gary Anderson mi sed wide left (like Walsh) on a 38-yard field goal attempt that would have put us up 10 points over Atlanta with two minutes to play, virtually sealing the victory. The Vikings lost that game 30-27 in overtime in the most excruciating defeat of my NFL career.They say that NFL executives, coaches and players remember the tough lo ses more than the great wins. I can vouch for that. Invariably, those most memorable games and lo ses are in the playoffs.MORE: Ranking each potential Super Bowl 50 matchup | Did legendary curse doom Vikings?With conference championship week upon us, the pain of that '98 title game has hit me as it does every year at this time...and maybe a little more this year after the Jared Goff Jersey Walsh mi s.I certainly have fond memories of the14 playoff victories in my career. There was the incredible last-second kickoff return for the Titans in the Music City Miracle win over Buffalo in the 1999 AFC wild card game. Topping my victory list are two conference championship games that sent our team to the Super Bowl the Vikings beating the Rams in below zero temps at old Met Stadium in Bloomington, Minn.in the 1976 NFC championship title game, and the Titans winning the 1999 AFC title game at Jacksonville.The Vikings and Titans lost both of those Super Bowl games but at least we made it to the NFL's big stage. Losing the conference title game four times was even more difficult to accept since a Super Bowl trip was on the line. Unfortunately two of the teams this weekend will experience that awful feeling of a great season ending one game too soon.Walsh and the Vikings felt terrible about his laces-in mi sed kick. However, their Kurt Warner Jersey first-round lo s in an NFC wild card game cannot po sibly be as devastating as blowing a conference championship and a trip to the Super Bowl when it was right in our grasp.MORE: Walsh says mi sed chip shot 'won't ruin my life'We went into that '98 title game as 11-point home favorites and had rolled over Arizona 41-21 in the divisional playoff game. We were all set with our Super Bowl plans after a week of intense meetings and preparation. Air charters, hotels, practice facility, the Super Bowl books to give to our team (with info on tickets, rooms, flights, team parties, family activities, itinerary for our Super Bowl week in Miami).My daughter Brooke had to mi s the title game as she was playing in a basketball tournament, but she wrote me a note that morning: "Sorry to mi s the game, but good luck and I know we'll be goin' to Miami" (her takeoff on the Will Smith hit song "Miami" in 1998).All of which made what followed even more painful.We knew Atlanta was no pushover, having gone 14-2 in the regular season, but we were undefeated at home and the Metrodome was rocking as our fans anticipated the Vikings' first Super Bowl trip in 22 years.MORE: AFC, NFC PICKS: Against the spreadOur record setting Vikings offense was dominant early in the game, led by quarterback Randall Cunningham (the NFL MVP that season), prolific receivers Cris Carter and Randy Mo s (the NFL's Rookie of the Year with 17 touchdown receptions) and our fine running back Robert Smith.Two Anderson field goals helped us to a 20-7 second quarter lead before the game turned on a sack by the Falcons' Chuck Smith that set up a touchdown pa s from Chris Chandler to Terance Mathis to bring Atlanta to a six point halftime deficit.Back and forth it went in the second half and we were leading 27-20 when a long drive led to Anderson's field goal attempt with two minutes to play. I was sitting in our Vikings management box, confident that Gary would convert.After all, we were indoors in the Metrodome so no weather i sues. We had the NFL's second leading all-time scorer lining up for the kick. Gary was 39 for 39 on field goals that season (and perfect too on extra points;in fact he was the first kicker in NFL history to have a perfect regular season, surpa sed only by the Colts' Mike Vanderjact in 2003 when he was perfect in the regular season and playoffs).As Gary trotted onto the field, the NFLoffice representatives were knocking on the door of our box, ready to bring us down to the field for the AFC trophy presentation once we had finished off the Falcons.The next half hour or so was a blur. As we watched in disbelief, Anderson pulled the kick and it barely mi sed wide left. Then our team played the rest of the game as if it was in shock that our automatic kicker had mi sed at the most critical time. The Falcons drove down field in the final minute. There was a near-end zone interception by our safety Robert Griffith, and then it was Chandler to Mathis again for the tying score.On to overtime. After our offense stalled at midfield, the Falcons drove to the winning field goal. And to make matters worse, the Falcons' Morten Andersen converted from 38 yards...same distance as Gary's mi s, same end of the field, same last name with a different spelling and Morten is the only player who stands ahead of Gary Anderson on Benny Cunningham Jersey the all-time scoring list.I'll never forget the total misery in our locker room after the game. Helmets thrown, tears shed, the Super Bowl trip to Miami down the drain. No one was really hearing coach Dennis Green's postgame speech to the team as they were trying to comprehend what had just happened. A postgame party had been planned at the team hotel, with the hope that we would be celebrating a big win. Our owner, Red McCombs, decided not to cancel which was not a good decision as the party became a proverbial funeral after the death of our season. Player no-shows were plentiful.Adding insult to injury, our '98 Vikings became the first team in NFL history to go 15-1 in the regular season and not reach the Super Bowl, a status subsequently reached by Pittsburgh in 2004 and Green Bay in 2011 (watch out Carolina so you don't join that infamous list).MORE: Super Bowl one-hit wondersI've always said that life in the NFL is a rollercoaster.After that crushing lo s, I thought I would never return to a Super Bowl after going in my rookie season of 1976, as here I was, 22 years and three conference championship lo ses later.But amazingly, I found myself back in the conference championship one year later but on the AFC Tavon Austin Jersey sidewith my new team the Tenne see Titans. And this time Jeff Fisher, Steve McNair, Eddie George, Jevon Kearse and our Titans sealed the deal with a 33-14 road triumph over topseeded Jacksonville.As a footnote on Gary Anderson, he is one of the nicest players I've ever known and, as disappointed as I was, I really felt bad for him as he was inconsolable after the game. In an interesting twist, we signed Gary in Tenne see to be our kicker for the 2003 season. I finally was able to forgive his mi s against Atlanta when he made a 46-yard field goal against the wind with 29 seconds left to provide the winning points in a 20-17 road victory over our arch-rival Baltimore in the AFC wild card game.So in this Sunday's conference championship games, I'll appreciate the tremendous joy that the winners are feeling and I'll empathize with the losers and their suffering. And I'll be hoping it doesn't come down to a mi sed field goal to again remind me of that terrible ending to our 1998 season.